Le psaume de dimanche

Sunday PsalmPsalm 55
Psalm 55 Sung in Hebrew by Cantor Moshe Stern


• • •
For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A maskil of David.

1 Listen to my prayer, O God,
do not ignore my plea;

2 hear me and answer me.
My thoughts trouble me and I am distraught

3 because of what my enemy is saying,
because of the threats of the wicked;
for they bring down suffering on me
and assail me in their anger.

4 My heart is in anguish within me;
the terrors of death have fallen on me.

5 Fear and trembling have beset me;
horror has overwhelmed me.

6 I said, “Oh, that I had the wings of a dove!
I would fly away and be at rest.

7 I would flee far away
and stay in the desert;

8 I would hurry to my place of shelter,
far from the tempest and storm.”

9 Lord, confuse the wicked, confound their words,
for I see violence and strife in the city.

10 Day and night they prowl about on its walls;
malice and abuse are within it.

11 Destructive forces are at work in the city;
threats and lies never leave its streets.

12 If an enemy were insulting me,
I could endure it;
if a foe were rising against me,
I could hide.

13 But it is you, a man like myself,
my companion, my close friend,

14 with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship
at the house of God,
as we walked about
among the worshipers.

15 Let death take my enemies by surprise;
let them go down alive to the realm of the dead,
for evil finds lodging among them.

16 As for me, I call to God,
and the LORD saves me.

17 Evening, morning and noon
I cry out in distress,
and he hears my voice.

18 He rescues me unharmed
from the battle waged against me,
even though many oppose me.

19 God, who is enthroned from of old,
who does not change—
he will hear them and humble them,
because they have no fear of God.

20 My companion attacks his friends;
he violates his covenant.

21 His talk is smooth as butter,
yet war is in his heart;
his words are more soothing than oil,
yet they are drawn swords.

22 Cast your cares on the LORD
and he will sustain you;
he will never let
the righteous be shaken.

23 But you, God, will bring down the wicked
into the pit of decay;
the bloodthirsty and deceitful
will not live out half their days.

But as for me, I trust in you.

• • •
Sunday Psalm is hosted by Daily Athens and Katney's Kaboodle

• • •

Weekend Reflections

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See all the other contributors to James' Weekend Reflections

Le vendredi «Sky Watch»

Sky Watch Friday

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See the Sky Watch Friday entries from around the globe!

Luna, la vache qui saut

Luna the Leaping Cow


Hat tip: Bibi in Belgrade

The Isley Bros, 1957: The Cow Jumped Over The Moon

Mercredi sans mots

Wordless Wednesday

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See all the other participants in Wordless Wednesday HERE and also at Tina's Wordless Wednesday.

Mardi Rouge

Ruby Tuesday
(a.k.a. Red Car Day at Chez la Vache!)

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A very rare 1956 Packard Caribbean hardtop coupe. Only 263 Caribbean hardtops were built. There were also 276 Caribbean convertibles built.

Because «Louis» uses Ruby Tuesday to show off red cars of various types, he once again takes advantage of this format to show off one of his favorite makes, Packard. Today's Packard is a 1956 Caribbean hardtop painted in the Dover White, Tangier Red and Corsican Black color scheme. Very few Caribbeans were painted in two-tone combinations and fewer still were one solid color. Tri-tone combinations were all the rage in 1955 and 1956 in the auto industry and Packard chose the Caribbean to receive the tri-tone paint schemes.

The Caribbean was a "halo" car - featuring sporty and luxury features not yet common on most other cars. They were designed to pull traffic into showrooms and expose customers to other, less expensive Packards and also to the mid-price Clipper series.

In 1953, General Motors introduced their own "halo" car for Cadillac, the El Dorado. Oldsmobile and Buick introduced "halo" cars as well: the Oldsmobile Fiesta and the Buick Riviera. Packard answered with the Caribbean. All were built in limited numbers - they were never intended to be volume production cars.

A 1953 Packard Caribbean

The Packard Caribbeans came equipped with everything but factory air conditioning and wire wheels standard. (Packard was the first to offer factory air conditioning in cars: 1941.) The 1956 Packard Caribbeans were fitted with a 374 cubic in V8 that developed 310 horsepower, the highest in the industry.

Sadly, 1956 was the last year for Detroit-built Packards and there was not a Caribbean version of the Studebaker-based "Packards" that were offered in 1957 and 1958. It is not uncommon today for fully restored Caribbeans to bring six-figure prices when they sell.

An ad for a '56 Caribbean, shown on Bay Street in San Francisco, with the Del Monte Cannery being on the left and Ghiradelli Chocolate being on the right. It should be noted that the artist took some liberty both with the location and the color of the Golden Gate bridge.... ;-D

Another ad for a '56 Caribbean, this one shown an ultra-rare two tone (rather than tri-tone) paint scheme. This one is in Naples Orange and Corsican Black. Note the reversible upholstery and the push button Twin-Ultramatic Drive automatic transmission.

See more Ruby Tuesday entries HERE.

Portes de lundi

Monday Doorways
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Cargo doors on the U.S.S. Hornet, CV12, a World War II-era Essex-class carrier that has had a storied career. The U.S. Navy has had a Hornet in its fleet almost as long as there has been a U.S. Navy - the first Hornet, a ten gun sloop commissioned in 1775. CV12 is the second carrier christened Hornet, preceded by CV8, a Yorktown-class carrier. CV8 was loaded with the B-25 bombers that were used in the famous Doolittle raid over Tokyo in April, 1942 at Pier 3, Alameda (California) Naval Air Station, where CV12 rests now as a museum. CV8 was lost in the Battle of Santa Cruz Islands, 26-27 October, 1942. CV12 was being built at the time and was scheduled to be christened Kearsarge, but was quickly re-named Hornet. CV12 was commissioned on 29 November 1943.

After World War II, CV12 served in Korea and Vietnam, but she is most famous for having retrieved the Apollo space capsules from the sea.

Hornet was decommissioned on 26 June 1970 and mothballed at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility. Hornet was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 25 July 1989. In 1991, she was designated a National Historic Landmark.
On 17 October 1998, she was recommissioned and opened to the public as an aircraft carrier museum in Alameda, California. She was designated a California State Historic Landmark in 1999. She is listed on the National Register of Historic places, #91002065.
• • •

Série du Pont de Dimanche CVI

Sunday Bridges
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A tanker heads toward one of the Bay Area's several refineries on a hazy morning.
Note the sailboats already on the Bay this morning.

Le psaume de dimanche

Sunday PsalmPsalm 54

• • •
For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A maskil of David. When the Ziphites had gone to Saul and said, “Is not David hiding among us?”

1 Save me, O God, by your name;
vindicate me by your might.
2 Hear my prayer, O God;
listen to the words of my mouth.

3 Arrogant foes are attacking me;
ruthless people are trying to kill me—
people without regard for God.

4 Surely God is my help;
the Lord is the one who sustains me.

5 Let evil recoil on those who slander me;
in your faithfulness destroy them.

6 I will sacrifice a freewill offering to you;
I will praise your name, LORD, for it is good.
7 You have delivered me from all my troubles,
and my eyes have looked in triumph on my foes.

• • •
Sunday Psalm is hosted by Daily Athens and Katney's Kaboodle

• • •

Weekend Reflections

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See all the other contributors to James' Weekend Reflections

Le vendredi «Sky Watch»

Sky Watch FridayÉtudes dans bleu et rose
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Alcatraz at dawn.


See the Sky Watch Friday entries from around the globe!

Oh! La Vache!

No. This is NOT «Louis»!

Original photo by Jean-Baptiste Mondino

Hat tip: "B Squared"

Mercredi sans mots

Wordless Wednesday

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See all the other participants in Wordless Wednesday HERE and also at Tina's Wordless Wednesday.

Mardi Rouge

Ruby Tuesday
(a.k.a. Red Car Day at Chez la Vache!)

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A magnificent 1934 Packard Twelve LeBaron Sport Phaeton.
Because «Louis» uses Ruby Tuesday to show off red cars of various types, he once again takes advantage of this format to show off one of his favorite makes, Packard, in this case a 1934 Packard Twelve LeBaron Sport Phaeton. The V-12 engine displaced 445.5 cubic inches and developed 160 horsepower. The Packard Twelve was whisper quiet and highly refined.

Note the jeweled cloisonné background of the hub cap on this Packard Twelve. Beautiful details such as this defined Packard as THE luxury make of the Classic era.

Another jewel-like detail: The "Packard Twelve" badge at the bottom of the radiator shell.
See more Ruby Tuesday entries HERE.

Portes de lundi

Monday Doorways
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Boulangerie Bay Bread is one of «Louis'» favorite boulangeries in the Bay Area. This is the original shop on Pine Street between Fillmore and Steiner in San Francisco. It was opened by Pascal Rigo, a native of Bordeaux. From one shop, they now have many branches around the Bay Area. Stepping into this boulangerie is like stepping into a little corner of France.

• • •

Série du Pont de Dimanche CV

Sunday Bridges
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Le psaume de dimanche

Sunday PsalmPsalm 53

• • •
For the director of music. According to mahalath. A maskil of David.
1 The fool says in his heart,
“There is no God.”
They are corrupt, and their ways are vile;
there is no one who does good.

2 God looks down from heaven
on all mankind
to see if there are any who understand,
any who seek God.

3 Everyone has turned away, all have become corrupt;
there is no one who does good,
not even one.

4 Do all these evildoers know nothing?
They devour my people as though eating bread;
they never call on God.

5 But there they are, overwhelmed with dread,
where there was nothing to dread.
God scattered the bones of those who attacked you;
you put them to shame, for God despised them.

6 Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!
When God restores his people,
let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad!
• • •
Sunday Psalm is hosted by Daily Athens and Katney's Kaboodle

• • •

Weekend Reflections

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See all the other contributors to James' Weekend Reflections

Le vendredi «Sky Watch»

Sky Watch Friday

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See the Sky Watch Friday entries from around the globe!

Je suis vache

I Am Cow

Proudly sponsored by Holy Cow Coffee Company

Mercredi sans mots

Wordless Wednesday

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See all the other participants in Wordless Wednesday HERE and also at Tina's Wordless Wednesday.

Mardi Rouge

Ruby Tuesday
(a.k.a. Red Car Day at Chez la Vache!)

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1955 Packard Clipper Constellation hardtop coupe in "Fire Opal" and "Jade White."
In 1955, Packard called its colors "Jewel Tones."
Because «Louis» uses Ruby Tuesday to show off red cars of various types, he takes advantage of this format to show off one of his favorite makes, Packard, in this case a 1955 Packard Clipper Constellation two door hardtop. The Clipper line for Packard had its genesis in the early 1940s and was intended to be a fully modern replacement for the aging 120-140-160-180 series of Packards dating to 1935. The designer "Dutch" Darrin had a hand in the design of the Clipper which was introduced in 1941. Curiously, Packard left the older series in production and built the Clipper alongside the 120-140-160-180 series cars. In retrospect, Packard should have quit building the older line and gone full-bore into the very beautiful new Clipper. (Even now, this Clipper looks good - it is a design which has aged well.) Sadly for Packard - and the Clipper (named for the famous Clipper ships), because Packard continued the older series of cars even into 1942, the Clipper never really got the toehold in the market it should have been able to get. The Japanese invasion of Pearl Harbor on 7 December, 1941 changed everything. Civilian car production ceased in February, 1942 as Packard (and all other auto makers) geared up for wartime production.

The 1941 Packard Clipper
Postwar, Packard re-introduced the Clipper and finally dropped the older series. But now, the design was five years old and Packard management felt the design needed to be replaced or at least "freshened." Designer John Rinehart had the design that became the 1951 Packard ready to go, but Packard president George Christopher refused to produce it, opting to "freshen" the Clipper. Unfortunately, the result was the 1948 - 1950 Packards that came to be known as "the pregnant elephants" or "upside down bathtubs." The Clipper name was dropped. Christopher's decision on the restyled postwar cars helped bring about a palace coup that forced him out. His replacement, after a care-taker president (Hugh Ferry), was the dynamic James Nance who arrived in 1952. Part of Christopher's downfall was his insistence in taking Packard downmarket, aiming for volume. In doing so, he handed Packard's luxury car crown to Cadillac on a silver platter.

The 1948 Packard: the ungainly restyle of the 1941 Clipper.

John Rinehart's beautiful 1951 Packard - the design was ready for 1948, but George Christopher refused to produce it. Had this design gone into production instead of Christopher's "pregnant elephant," Packard's postwar history might very well have been very different...

Nance was determined to restore Packard as the king of the luxury car business, but he also recognized that Packard needed a volume line. Nance's answer was to reintroduce the Clipper as a lower-priced make while Nance set about polishing Packard's tarnished image in the luxury field. So, the Clipper was re-introduced in 1953.

The 1955 Clipper Constellation two door hardtop shown here was fully competitive with GM's mid-price makes, Oldsmobile and Buick, while the Packard Four Hundred went head-to-head with Cadillac. Alas, Nance arrived too late and events conspired against him to save Packard, but that is another story.

The luxurious 1955 Packard Four Hundred in the same colors as the Clipper Constellation above, "Fire Opal" and "Jade White."



See more Ruby Tuesday entries HERE.

Portes de lundi

Monday Doorways
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Heinold's First and Last Chance Saloon, Jack London Square, Oakland, CA
Author Jack London, whose cabin we showed last Monday, was a regular in this saloon. It was here where London met Alexander McLean, a captain known for his cruelty at sea, whom the protagonist in London's novel The Sea-Wolf, Wolf Larsen, is based.
• • •

Série du Pont de Dimanche CIV

Sunday Bridges
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The new suspension section of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge continues to take shape. Twenty years late and almost half-a-billion dollars over budget, it symbolizes how paralyzed California has become because of special interest politics. The original bridge was built in four years.

Le psaume de dimanche

Sunday PsalmPsalm 52

• • •
For the director of music. A maskil of David. When Doeg the Edomite had gone to Saul and told him: “David has gone to the house of Ahimelek.”

1 Why do you boast of evil, you mighty hero?
Why do you boast all day long,
you who are a disgrace in the eyes of God?

2 You who practice deceit,
your tongue plots destruction;
it is like a sharpened razor.

3 You love evil rather than good,
falsehood rather than speaking the truth.

4 You love every harmful word,
you deceitful tongue!

5 Surely God will bring you down to everlasting ruin:
He will snatch you up and pluck you from your tent;
he will uproot you from the land of the living.

6 The righteous will see and fear;
they will laugh at you, saying,

7 “Here now is the man
who did not make God his stronghold
but trusted in his great wealth
and grew strong by destroying others!”

8 But I am like an olive tree
flourishing in the house of God;
I trust in God’s unfailing love
for ever and ever.

9 For what you have done I will always praise you
in the presence of your faithful people.
And I will hope in your name,
for your name is good.

• • •
Sunday Psalm is hosted by Daily Athens and Katney's Kaboodle

• • •

Weekend Reflections

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See all the other contributors to James' Weekend Reflections